The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Elder Saul wore a straw hat that provided a great amount of shade from the heat of the two suns. He knelt to observe the deep dark soil of his gardens. A worm wriggled around, enjoying the cool feel of the dirt.

Elder Saul placed these worms in the past to improve the good soil further and make it plentiful. The worms noticed Elder Saul's gaze and quickly retreated into the dirt.

"Ungrateful little things. I gave you a home, yet you all don't open up." Elder Saul looked in the direction of the stadium. "I gave you the opportunity you wanted. What will you do?"

…….

"Fred…." Oscar spoke in a daze. He never expected to meet Frederick in this opening match. What were the chances of this occurring out of all the people here?

Oscar clenched his hands as he took a good look at Frederick. His friend's clothes were ragged and poorly patched. The bright and lively countenance was gone, replaced by a gloomy, dark expression.

Fred's vibrant yellow eyes were now dull and gazing lifelessly elsewhere. The most shocking was the large scar that covered his left eye. The eye was still there, but the traces of a ghastly wound ran from his forehead to his cheek.

"Fred. How have you been?"

No response. Frederick remained silent.

Oscar's hands balled into fists that were white as sheets from how hard they were squeezing. He had been worried sick about Frederick for the past year, but he was met with this cold rejection.

The proctor noticed this strange atmosphere building between the two contestants and quickly intervened. "Ready?"

Oscar did not answer for a moment. His emotions were hard to keep in check despite his best efforts. Now that Frederick was before him, all manners of turbulent thoughts circled around.

He let out a puff of air, constantly reminding himself that this was what he wanted—a chance to speak to Frederick, even in such circumstances as this. With an unwavering voice, he shouted, "Ready!"

Frederick gave a short nod to the proctor.

"Begin!" The proctor disliked Frederick's attitude but kept his complaints. His job was to oversee the match.

The next action surprised the proctor and even made some cracks in Frederick's emotionless face. Instead of wielding his buckler, summoning his Anima, or even outputting his Ein, Oscar sat on the platform.

"Fred, let's talk."

Oscar left himself completely open to Frederick. His eyes were fixed on Frederick as if pleading for him to see reason and talk it out. He and Frederick had neglected it earlier, but Oscar believed it was not too late.

However, Fred did not accept Oscar's offer and shifted his feet with 'Wind Steps' and moved to Oscar's side in one swift motion. His 'Twin Leaf Swords' swung out to pierce through Oscar as his hawk anima torpedoed in from above.

BAM

Oscar saw through it with his Prinstyct. He retrieved his buckler preemptively and blocked Fred's swords, making their Eins clash in a flame of blue and green. With his Reis added in, Oscar stopped his friend's attack.

At the same time, his deer anima manifested out of nowhere and charged with its antlers at the hawk anima. It responded with its beak, with Ein concentrated on its tip. This was also a great clash; Oscar had to put more Ein into his deer's antlers to match up against the grade difference.

Oscar's face was downcast as he looked straight at Fred. Their weapons were in a struggle as Fred tried to keep pushing in.

"Are you not willing to talk? We're best friends, aren't we?" Oscar's voice trembled with emotion. "Please."

Frederick retreated with his hawk anima and changed his strategy, collecting Ein into his swords. Both glowed with a shining light as they slashed down to create several 'Brilliant Slash'.

Oscar could see Frederick swing his swords with the Prinstyct, but not how large or fast the 'Brilliant Slash' was. They were incredibly fast, as noted by their light attribute.

"Fast. However!" Oscar brought up his buckler and invoked 'Steel Scales' in defense. The scales around him were incredibly sturdy from his long months of mastering his spells.

The multitude of 'Brilliant Slash' was ineffective against Oscar's tight defense, though he felt discomfort from the ones that landed on him.

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Finally, Oscar stood up with a serious expression and shouted, "What is it? Why do you torture yourself like this? Do you even see yourself? If I didn't see you moving around, I would have thought you were a corpse."

But again, he was met with silence. Fred did not make eye contact. Oscar exhaled the hot air in his lungs and unclenched his hands, releasing the vexation.

"I'm sorry. I should have stopped you last year. I should have gotten out of that bed and stopped you. But I won't be afraid this time. I will say what I have had a year to think about." Oscar took a decisive step forward. The sound of his feet was clear.

Fred's brow suddenly twitched for a moment. But he maintained his composure and readied his swords to strike.

"Why did you save us?" Oscar asked.

In the short moment Frederick halted from Oscar's question, Oscar rushed in and threw his buckler. This distracted Frederick for a moment as Oscar suddenly closed in.

Frederick tried to move to the side with 'Wind Steps', but Oscar was quick on his feet and foresaw Frederick's direction. In one sweeping motion, Oscar grabbed onto Frederick, who tried to retaliate with his swords, but Oscar put a grappling hold to stop Frederick's arms.

It was like the first few spars they had with each other, but Oscar was more competent and powerful than before. His incredible physique locked Frederick in place without resistance.

"At the Floating Islands of Edin, you saved me from the Thousand Serpent." Oscar tightened his hold. Frederick's face was red. "Why? If you were so focused on revenge to the point of leaving us, then there should have been no reason for you to do so."

Frederick struggled to break free and summoned his hawk anima to stab at Oscar, but Oscar covered his body in 'Steel Scales' that repelled the hawk's sharp beak. There was no use against Oscar's 'Ein Awaken' controlled spell.

"You can stab my eyes or dig into my ears with that hawk, but you won't do that." Oscar kept talking into Frederick's ear. "Deep down, your revenge isn't more important than us. Listen to me!"

The hawk anima decided to swoop in for another attack, with a great concentration of Ein on its beak, enough to pierce through Oscar's defense.

Oscar was about to move his deer anima to meet the hawk, but a sudden blast of powerful wind burst from Frederick's back. He was forced to release his hold and retreat. What had stopped him was a great barrier of wind that now separated him and Frederick.

'Wind Barrier'

This one was far more powerful than Nicholas's, and it expanded with such force that Oscar was forced back.

Frederick stood back up and dashed towards Oscar with all his speed in a burst of wind. His nostrils flared, ending the cold apathy from earlier. Oscar's words had successfully riled him up.

Oscar's buckler spun through the air toward Frederick. Naturally, Frederick did not forget this hidden trick of Oscar's and cut at the string with 'Brilliant Slash'. But his eyes narrowed as the blades could not cut through the string.

'That string is made from the sinew from the Thousand Serpent. It cost quite a bit, but it was worth it.' Oscar tugged the buckler to make it spin and bind around his swords.

Frederick tried to tug away, but Oscar closed the distance and slammed with his buckler, knocking away the two swords and buckler. He tightened his fist and punched squarely into Frederick's face.

All the while, the deer anima kept perusing about to deter the hawk anima. It played very defensively to avoid being hurt unnecessarily. Thankfully, with Frederick's current predicament, the hawk anima was not focusing its attacks properly.

Frederick coughed out blood from Oscar's powerful punch. In response, he let loose an uppercut toward Oscar's chin. The Prinstyct telegraphed the punch, but Oscar slammed his forehead down, cracking Frederick's knuckles.

"This is not your full strength. I know you're holding back. You don't want to fight me." Oscar kicked forward. Frederick blocked with a cross-guard.

"I consider you a brother. Is it not the same for you? Emily as well."

Frederick tried to grab Oscar's leg, but Oscar stomped his foot down and rammed him with his shoulder.

No Ein, no Reis. Nothing but a brawl. The fact that Frederick responded the same was the verification Oscar needed to know that Frederick wasn't completely detached from them.

"Gilbert was once like that, but we will never betray you. Teresa may have rejected you, but we won't."

Frederick's expression darkened with rage as he went on a rampage, barraging down Oscar. His punches and kicks hurt, but Oscar took each one and fought back.

"It was not your fault!"

BAM

Their fists met in a violent collision.

"Teresa's death was not your fault. There was nothing you could have done to save her."

BAM BAM BAM

"I can't say that I understand it completely, but…." Oscar recalled when he saw the wretched state of Uncle Carlson that came from the betrayal and rejection of his own daughter, Isabella.

Carlson's behavior was similar to Teresa's. They shared the utter pain of the rejection by the one they loved.

'If Uncle Carlson never let me in his house to talk and hear my words. He would probably have died a while ago.' Even now, he sometimes received letters from Uncle Carlson, which made him happy. His parents also wrote how Carlson had stopped drinking but had issues tending to his field.

"She was not willing to hear you out. Even if she rejected your confession, she could still have taken your hand as a friend. It was her choice, not your failure. You knew that."

Frederick let out a scream, and body slammed at Oscar, making them fall to the floor. Frederick lay atop Oscar and started to beat down on his face.

Oscar's hands grabbed Frederick's wrists and were followed by a fierce headbutt to the face. Frederick groaned in pain and fell back. Oscar wiped off the blood flowing from his nose.

"Your revenge is nothing but a suicide mission. That's what you wish for, isn't it?" Oscar deflected and blocked several blows, countering with precise shots to the body. "What if you did this or that differently? You think you don't deserve to live because of how you handled things with Gilbert and Teresa. However, you don't get to decide that."

Why did Nicholas decide to give his life to save him? Why did Celestina nearly sacrifice herself against Doyle? Why didn't they think about themselves?

They exchanged fierce punches to their faces, but Frederick dropped to the floor while Oscar stood tall.

"That judgment is reserved for the ones around you. And I say you deserve to live, Fred. If you are in danger of dying, I will put myself in the face of death to save you." Oscar stood with labored breathing.

Oscar extended his hand out to the fallen Frederick. "You would do the same for me. Please come back."

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